The end of the year is busy for a lot of reasons, but it’s especially busy if you’re a fan of video games. With the impending holiday shopping rush, it’s the best chance for developers and publishers to get their games in front of a potentially huge audience of shoppers. This means that from September on, it can feel like a constant deluge of new game releases.
The Verge holiday 2018 gaming guide
The best games coming to the Nintendo Switch, PS4, PC, and Xbox One
2018 is no different. Things started out strong with a slick new version of Spider-Man for the PlayStation 4, and the momentum has only continued. Huge franchises like Pokémon, Fallout, and Red Dead Redemption are making a return, while indie games like Donut County and Return of the Obra Dinn are offering brand-new interactive experiences. In December, the year will be capped off with the biggest Super Smash Bros. game ever made.
It’s a lot to keep track of. So to make things as easy as possible, we’ve gathered all of The Verge’s holiday games coverage in one spot. Here, you can catch up on reviews of the latest releases as well as in-depth features on how these games are made and interviews with the people who make them.
The only thing we can’t give you is enough time to play everything.
September
- Donut County is a game about swallowing Los Angeles and realizing you’re an asshole
- Dragon Quest XI review (PS4, PC)
- Dragon Quest’s creator doesn’t want to stop working anytime soon
- Marvel’s Spider-Man review (PS4)
- Shadow of the Tomb Raider review (PS4, Xbox, PC)
- Destiny 2: Forsaken review (PS4, Xbox, PC)
- Nintendo Labo Vehicle Kit review (Switch)
- Nintendo’s new Xenoblade expansion eases players into the daunting world of RPGs
- Life is Strange 2 review (PS4, Xbox, PC)
October
- Assassin’s Creed Odyssey review (PS4, Xbox, PC)
- Super Mario Party review (Switch)
- 428: Shibuya Scramble is the best crime book you’ll ever read on your PS4
- The World Ends With You review (Switch)
- Return of the Obra Dinn review (PC)
- Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 review (PS4, Xbox, PC)
- Red Dead Redemption 2 review (PS4, Xbox)
- Red Dead Redemption 2 improves some of my favorite parts of The Witcher 3
- This queer horror game forces you to literally tear yourself apart
November
- With Diablo III and Dark Souls for Switch, you never have to leave the dungeon
- Déraciné review (PSVR)
- Tetris Effect review (PS4, PSVR)
- Tetsuya Mizuguchi’s trippy new take on Tetris will put you in the zone
- Tetris Effect is perfect for people overwhelmed by modern video games
- Hitman 2 review (PS4, Xbox, PC)
- How Hitman 2’s developers turned its gigantic levels into ever-evolving playgrounds
- Sean Bean is excited to see how he dies in Hitman 2
- Fallout 76 journal: an ongoing exploration of post-apocalyptic West Virginia
November, continued
- Pokémon: Let’s Go review (Switch)
- Pokémon: Let’s Go is the perfect way to introduce kids to the series
- Pokémon: Let’s Go is a ‘starting point for the next 20 years of Pokémon’
- Battlefield V review (PS4, Xbox, PC)
- Red Dead Online’s early hours are full of violence, beauty, and annoying griefers
- Red Dead Online’s battle royale mode is slow, tense, and nothing like Fortnite
December
- Persona’s newest Dancing games are a perfect love letter to the series
- Super Smash Bros. Ultimate review (Switch)
- Super Smash Bros. Ultimate’s spirits mode turns Nintendo’s fighter into an RPG
- Gris review (PC, Switch)
- The art behind the gorgeous indie game Gris
- Why the dark, foreboding adventure Below took six years to make